The reason it’s so hard to make decisions is that we’re confused about what we really want.

Decision-making is hard, not so much because of the options we face but because we have to deal with our own mind. We’re confused by indecision.

One of the great texts on rulership recommends that the king or queen carefully contemplate every decision based on how it will benefit others. This is a shortcut to the path of virtue.

In the Tibetan tradition, “virtue” doesn’t have a heavily moralistic or religious overtone. It is a process of developing the wisdom to see clearly how the world works, and the compassion to hold the welfare of others always in mind.

Looking at our options with the question, ‘How does this benefit others?’ widens our perspective and gives us a barometer to discern what we should cultivate and what we should discard.

Sometimes we know what to do, but we lack the strength to do it.

Our decisions have karmic power.

The word Karma means ‘action’. Every decision we make creates and action, and every action ceate a reaction. Whatever we decide to do will have some kind of effect.

When we make decisions with others in mind , we are cultivating compassion, patience, generosity or forgiviness. Peace and harmony result.

The more we practice decision-making according to these meditative principles, the more we understand how they move us forward.

A person who has decided to put others before themselves is becoming a buddha, which means “awake”.